AFG vs NZ Test: The ground, facilities, weather—nothing seems right at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Sathik Stadium (commonly known as the Greater Noida Stadium). The weather isn’t in anyone’s control, but ensuring that play happens irrespective of that is one of the biggest responsibilities of those in charge of handling the stadium.
It’s not the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) or the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Board but rather the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, which runs the operations. It’s safe to say things haven’t been handled well. It hadn’t rained on the first day (September 9) and still, we couldn’t witness any play. Yesterday, it rained for a couple of hours, and that resulted in Day 2 of the Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test being called off.
After two days, the toss is yet to happen. Today (September 10), Afghanistan didn’t even arrive at the stadium. New Zealand arrived after the first inspection took place at noon. They had a batting and bowling session on one of the practice pitches and returned soon after the play was called off at 3 PM. There was a reason why Tim Southee’s side was present at the Greater Noida Stadium.
New Zealand & Afghanistan to shake hands after Day 3?
On September 18, just 8 days later, New Zealand are slated to face Sri Lanka in Galle. It’ll be a five-day affair like the one-off Test in Greater Noida. Only the ongoing match might not last the full duration. InsideSport understands that the Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test could be abandoned tomorrow.
With just two days left, a result is unlucky to happen, and both teams don’t trust the condition of the ground either. Just like yesterday, it rained at the ground today as well in the evening. Going by how poor the condition of the ground already is and that rain has further exacerbated it, Day 3 is likely to be called off.
New Zealand want to reach Sri Lanka as quickly as possible and might request the ACB to shake hands after rain and unfit conditions ruin the third day. Afghanistan have suffered the loss of Ibrahim Zadran, who suffered an ankle injury on the eve of the match during practice, and are expected to agree.
InsideSport asked ACB if New Zealand had indeed made such a request or if they had thought about abandoning the Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test match if the third day resulted in a washout. However, the ACB refused to comment.
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